Microsoft Flight Simulator has released World Update 23: Poland and the Baltics, a free scenery package that gives dedicated regional treatment to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The update is live as of October 26, 2026, according to Microsoft Flight Simulator’s announcement.
The team built the update with Bing Places, Asobo, and Gaya. This is the first time in the franchise’s history that Microsoft Flight Simulator has published an update dedicated to this region.
First dedicated pass at Poland and the Baltics
The pack carries 12 areas of interest rendered with updated photogrammetry, TIN surface texturing, and digital elevation model data. Eight AOIs are in Poland, two are in Lithuania, one is in Latvia, and one is in Estonia. The country split puts the largest photogrammetry footprint in Poland, with Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Lodz, Poznan, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. Lithuania gets Kaunas and Vilnius, while Latvia and Estonia receive Riga and Tallinn. Poland, one of the largest countries in Central Europe by landmass and population, spans urban skylines, Baltic shorelines, river valleys, and mountains. To the northeast, Lithuania is known for its lakes and forests, Latvia for its white-sand beaches and wetlands, and Estonia for its Baltic coastline and two large islands.
Before World Update 23, the region relied on the simulator’s existing regional coverage. The change is most visible in the covered capitals and major cities, where photogrammetry replaces generic building shapes with recognizable urban structures. Outside the AOIs, the DEM and TIN data still improves surface and elevation detail across the wider region.
At ground level, the three scenery techniques do different work. Photogrammetry preserves real building shapes and facades, TIN surface texturing builds a more natural triangulated terrain surface, and DEM data supplies elevation detail so ridges, river valleys, and coastlines read correctly during low flight.
The update also includes 77 points of interest. Highlights from the first-party list include Angla Windmill Park, Keri Lighthouse, and Kopu Lighthouse in Estonia; Edole Castle, Kolka Lighthouse, Riga Radio and TV Tower, and Rundale Palace in Latvia; Lazdininkai Windmill, Lyduvenai Bridge, Old Zabyskis Church, and Trakai Island Castle in Lithuania; and Malbork Castle, Sopot Pier, and Urania Hall in Poland. The first-party points-of-interest list gives several of these landmarks a superlative: Kopu Lighthouse is the third oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world and the oldest on the Baltic Sea, Riga Radio and TV Tower is the tallest tower in the European Union, Rundale Palace is the “Versailles of the Baltic,” and Malbork Castle is the largest brick castle in the world. Trakai Island Castle sits on an island in Lake Galve and dates to the 14th century, Old Zabyskis Church is an early Gothic church built between 1530 and 1578, and Kolka Lighthouse stands about 5.2 km off the Latvian coast on an artificial island.
How the missions split across 2024 and 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 owners receive the fullest set of new activities. The update adds three Discovery Flights over Warsaw, Poland; Sigulda, Latvia; and Tallinn, Estonia. It also adds four Precision Landings: Kardla in a Textron Aviation Cessna Citation CJ4, Jurmala in an Airbus A310-300, Palanga in an Airbus A320neo, and Opole-Kamien Slaski in a Textron Aviation Beechcraft King Air 350i. A fifth landing activity, the Sopot Landing Challenge, recreates a specific real-world pier arrival. The 2024 version also gets one Guided Tour through Tatra National Park and one Rally Race.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) owners get the three Discovery Flights and the four Landing Challenges with the same airport and aircraft pairings. The Sopot challenge, the Tatra tour, and the rally race are not part of the 2020 update list.
World Updates are scenery packages, separate from the numbered Sim Update track. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s Sim Update 7 added the free National Championship Air Races separately. World Update 23 layers regional fidelity and these new landing tasks onto whatever latest simulator build a player is running.
Five handcrafted airports and the Sopot pier
The five handcrafted airports from Gaya give the update its practical route hooks. Kardla Airport (EEKA) is the only airport on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. Jurmala Airport (EVJA) in Latvia was built in the 1930s and once was a Soviet nuclear weapons bunker; today it is a museum and the home base of Latvia’s Baltic Bees aerobatic demonstration team. Palanga International Airport (EYPA) is Lithuania’s third largest airport and the primary gateway to the country’s Baltic Sea region. Warsaw-Babice Airport (EPBC) in Poland focuses on private aviation, turboprop operations, and flight training. Opole-Kamien Slaski Airport (EPKN) began as a German military airfield in the mid-1930s and now is a small private airfield next to the Silesia Ring automobile racetrack, where Porsche operates the Porsche Experience Center Poland.
The four landing tasks, Precision Landings in the 2024 build and Landing Challenges in the 2020 build, use Kardla, Jurmala, Palanga, and Opole-Kamien Slaski as their destinations. The fifth airport, Warsaw-Babice, is not listed among the new landing challenges, but its city location and general aviation focus make it a useful free-flight hub for players building their own VFR routes through Warsaw.
For a different kind of arrival, the Sopot Landing Challenge recreates the real flight where Polish Red Bull Air Race pilot Lukasz Czepiela landed a custom-modified CubCrafters STOL aircraft on Sopot Pier. The update’s points-of-interest list calls Sopot Pier the longest wooden pier in Europe, and the challenge turns it into a short-field landing target instead of a conventional runway. It joins the Discovery Flights and tour content as a mission built specifically for the 2024 version.
Free on every supported platform
World Update 23 is free to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The update is delivered after players update the simulator to the latest version and download World Update 23. The base simulator is available on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PC, PlayStation 5, PS VR2, Steam, and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The free release fits a recent pattern of steady scenery output. Microsoft Flight Simulator’s City Update 15 improved Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
